Over the past several weeks, we’ve celebrated significant milestones across our Gibson Electric Membership Corporation team.

The retirements of Jeff Boyd, Jeff Fox, Barry Smith and Dan Rodamaker represent a combined 149 years of service to our cooperative. Each was honored with a reception attended by colleagues and family members, where guests shared stories and recognized their lasting contributions.

Jeff Boyd

Jeff was a field and compliance engineer who joined Gibson Electric in 1976. He followed in his father’s footsteps, beginning his career at Weakley County Electric, where his dad worked, before coming to Gibson. Boyd earned his Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of Tennessee at Martin.

“I was born into engineering,” he said. “It’s all I’ve known.”

Jeff Fox

Jeff joined Gibson Electric in 1993 and worked his way up to line crewleader on our Alamo member service team. He summed up his 37-year career simply, saying “I’ve been blessed.”

Barry Smith

Barry joined Gibson Electric as a project engineer in 1986 after interning with the cooperative while completing his degree. During that time, he helped lay the groundwork for the co-op’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system — a major step forward that supported the development of today’s 24/7 dispatch operations.

Barry was promoted to director of operations in 1996, vice president of operations and system planning in 2010 and to vice president of engineering and operations in 2017.

“I never dreaded coming in to work,” he said. “I believed in what we did for our members and the communities we serve.”

Dan Rodamaker

Dan joined Gibson Electric as president and CEO in 2003. Two key milestones during his tenure include the 2016 merger with Hickman-Fulton Counties RECC and the creation of Gibson Connect, the cooperative’s broadband subsidiary, in 2017.

“Both required vision, trust and a clear focus on what would best serve our members for generations to come,” Rodamaker said.

Rodamaker was also active at the local, state and national levels, building relationships that shaped his career and reinforced his belief in the power of cooperation.

“I know the cooperative spirit that has carried us this far will continue to guide what comes next,” he said.

Read more about these recent retirees in the May edition of The Tennessee Magazine or Kentucky Living. Photo highlights from their retirement receptions are shared below.